Random Book Review: The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling takes you to a picturesque and fictional town of Pagford. When Barry Fairbrother the Councilor of Pagford suddenly died of an aneurysm, the council seat is left vacant. With this premise, the author delves into the social implications of personal and secretly covered agenda, social illnesses and choices, and how each choice to fill one owns personal vacancy whether in life and the consequences stemming from it.

The new book is a far departure from the magical adventure of Harry Potter. The bulk of the story focuses on  the secret agendas of some of its people, to fill in for an empty seat in the Parish left by Barry, with the  addition of problems such as drug addiction, raped and family secret that will be a catalyst to the biggest war the town have even seen. I just one to point out that the book is about people living in a town with real jobs and real problems. So you have things like swearing in most of the conversations that takes place or teenagers having sex. Don't be shocked- it happens in real life.

The strong point for me when reading the book is the ability of J.K Rowling to give life to each of the characters is this book, detailing their problem efficiently and properly  giving meaning to their predicament. 
Maybe this strong ability that Rowling has to describe places and her character is a flaw by itself. The juiciest part are somehow lightly disperse across the book and the big finale will be way long into the book. I almost gave up, but she tied up the ending nicely, hence had redeemed herself from having a bad book.
So overall, the Casual Vacancy is a well written book but a strong will and patience is needed to get through to the very end. If you like digging into something more suspenseful or with more mystery or fun, than Rowling latest literature, then this will not be your cup of tea.

Random Book Review:Devices and Desires

Sypnosis
When Commander Adam Dalgliesh visit Larsoken, a remote headland community on the Norfolk coast in the shadow of a nuclear power station, he expects to be engaged only in the sad business of tying up his aunt's estate. But the peace of Larsoken is illusory. A serial killer known as the Whistler is terrorizing the neighbourhood and Dalgliesh is drawn into the lives of the headlanders when it soon becomes apparent that the Whistler isn't the only murderer at work under the sinister shadow of the power station.

Review
Reading and going further into the book is like peeling off the layers personal human experiences. The deeper you go, the more you will  will discover about the people that are in the book. Furthermore, what is enjoyble for me is that the author writes about characters that have tragedies in their lives and incorporates them into the main plots and subplots and to the suspense and mysteries. Cohesiveness is important when writing a novel and glad to say this author did well in keeping the story tight and plausible from page to page. The book also keeps trudging along without the feeling of being a drag to read.

Overall, is a good quality and well written crime novel. a recommendable read.

Random Book Review: The Stand

 Author: Stephen King

Published: 1978

Publisher: Doubleday

First published in 1978, the book details the story  of post-apocalyptic survivors after a super-flu pandemic that nearly wipe-out the whole population on earth. The author explores not only the good versus evil aspect but also our fears in times of hopelessness and despair, civil unrest and unlawfulness.
In the narrative the survivors of the pandemic  are brought together by dreams that foretold  of a Dark Man, a prince of Evil on a mission to wipe out those that oppose him and his army that will pit good versus evil in a final confrontation.
Once again, he excels telling his horror stories. I would say that he has this knack of  zooming into the inner most human physche quite thoroughly in the process of reading the book. A good book is when you have decide to invest thoroughly in the good that is in the book

Having said that, I have to say the Achilles heel of the whole experience of reading the novel is in fact it's length, which is at 1421 pages on paperback and 1152 on hardcover for The Complete and Uncut version. During it's publication back in 1978, Stephen King decided to cut out approximately 400 pages ( around 150,000 word) to make it more accessible to readers.
It can get pretty draggy on a bad day, if you do have one, but once you have the mentality of a slow tortoise eventually winning the race, you will enjoy the book. Having said that, I wonder where he gets his inspiration from to write in such manner.
Overall, The Stand in my opinion is truly one of the best from the King of Horror. The stories of it's characters with their point of view will keep you entertainment until the very last page.

Book Review: A street cat name Bob.

A book I accidently picked up at a bookstore while I was waiting for a movie which was hours away. The book tells the story of recovering drug addict, James Bowen, who does busking( performing in public places), who admittedly discovered an injured ginger Tom cat named Bob and subsequently became inseparable since 2007. A book publisher came to them with a proposal to do a book and on March 2012, the book was released.



The book is really a good book. The story is so real and heartfelt that I finished the book within a few hours. It is really a special book to read, trust me.

A street cat name bob( Sina)

An interview of James and Bob.

Random book review: The Chamber

Publication date: 1994

Publisher: Doubleday

Sypnosis

The FBI recorded almost four hundred bombings in Mississippi from 1964 to 1968, virtually all related to the civil rights movement, and almost all involving black churches or black homes.

In 1967 in Greenville Mississippi, known Klan member Sam Cayhall is accused of bombing the law offices of Jewishung civil rights activists Marvin Kramer, killing kramer's two sons. Cayhall's first trial, with an all-white jury and a Klan rally outside the courtroom, ends in a hung jury; the retrial six month later has the same outcome. 

Twelve years later an ambitious district attorney in Greenville reopens the case. Much has changed since 1967, and this time, with a jury of eight whites and four blacks, Cayhall is convicted. He is transferred to the state penitentiary on death row.
In 1990, in the huge Chicago law firm Kravitz & Bane a young lawyer named Adam Hall asks  to work on the Cayhall case, which the firm has handles on a pro bono basis for years. But the case is all but lost and time is running out: within weeks Sam Cayhall will finally go to the gas chamber. Why is the world would Adam want to get involved?

Review:
Another court room legal thriller written, The Chamber touchy subject on the death penalty is an interesting subject matter throughout the whole book. You can help but root for the death row convict in spite of his wrong doings in the past and especially Adam Hall who has to deal with his past life.
I won't spoil much of the plot here, but I would say that the chamber is a good read. As usual, John Grisham is a writer that has the ability to put you right into the action. Not  as gripping as a Time to Kill but the pacing on this one is fluid and good enough for wanting to know what will happen at the end.
At the end of the day, it makes you question this: Why the death penalty? Are we as cruel as the convicted if we do so passing the judgement and killing? Would forgiveness be the better way? and why all that racism at the first place?
Highly recommendable read for its grim subject matter and the way its written.

The random book review: The client

Author: John Grisham
Publication date: 1994
synopsis
Eleven year old Mark Sway and his younger brother Ricky were sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sough-after dead body in America


Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all but four years


Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. And Reggie will do anything to protect her client- even take a last desperate gamble that could win Mark his freedom ..... or cost them both their lives.
Review on the book: 
I love how the plot goes as Mark is in deep trouble for knowing such a live changing secret. How his world is turned upside down by a desperate and group of legal prosecutors and a bad bullying mafia head. Even though Mark is eleven in the book, John Grisham tells him in such a way that his a very real and functioning character, when in truth he is only a kid.
The energy from the first page to the last is relentless- truly gripping that you wouldn't want to put the book down. The narrative just flows from one chapter to another seamlessly


randomdotfm book rating:
*Highly recommendable read*

Youtube 2010: the good, the bad and the ugly

Best reality show singing contestant:

taiwan Susan Boyle

Best fail video:

watermelon to the face! Amazing race season 17

Best pet videos:

OMGZOMG KITTEH!!

squirrel fends friend from crow

the dreaming puppy

the best sing a long video:

The platypus song

best prank/improvisation video:

Improv everywhere :No underwear subway ride

improv everywhere :Ted's birthday

improv everywhere: the Mp3 experiment seven

best kid video:

baby doing the samba

best ad video:

guy walking across America

best spoof video:

Only from afar inspired by Bruno Mars "Just the way you are"

shed a tears inspired by the song by Far East Movement "Rocketeer"

best educational video

Ben Bradshaw teaches English in Bahasa Melayu


youtubers to watch out for:
Chester See



Charlie Mcdonnell

other notable mentions:
Bieber bottle throwing incident

The Book Review: Dan Brown- The Lost Symbol

The pace of this book is so excellent that I was totally hook by it from the moment I turn to the first page (The pace of the story which he writes will give you a heart attack) . The subplots are awesomely put together and it is Dan Brown's canny ability to write in detail the historically facts and also the fictional underpinning that makes this book an interesting and engaging book to read

P.S: Don't like at all the religious innuendos mentioned on this book. I think that is the irony, a good book with lots of religious innuendos.